Islamabad, Dec 2: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today called for a comprehensive review of Pakistan's cooperation with the US following the NATO strike saying troops had been instructed to respond "with full force" to any further act of aggression.
 Gilani made the remarks while briefing a special meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security that was convened to discuss Saturday's NATO air strike on two Pakistani military posts that killed 24 soldiers and its impact on future cooperation with the US and its allies.
 "Clearly, there is a limit to our patience. Cooperation cannot be a one-way street," Gilani told the parliamentary panel.
 The "dastardly" attack was a "grave infringement of Pakistan's territorial frontiers" by NATO and would "definitely compel us to revisit our national security paradigm", he said.
 "Instructions have been issued to all units of the Pakistan armed forces to respond, with full force, to any act of aggression and infringement of Pakistan's territorial frontiers," he told the panel.
 Gilani sought recommendations from the panel for a joint session of Parliament that will be convened shortly to discuss the fallout of the NATO attack.
 The premier signalled a possible shift in Pakistan's policy for the US-led war on terror, which Islamabad has supported since the 9/11 terror attacks. "Our security and counter-terrorism policy needs to be pursued in a manner that suits Pakistan’s national interests," he said.
 Gilani noted that the Defence Committee of the Cabinet, the highest decision-making body on security issues, had already decided that the government would "undertake a complete review of all programmes, activities and cooperative arrangements with the US/NATO/ISAF, including diplomatic, political, military and intelligence" cooperation.
 "Given the gravity of the situation, it is imperative to undertake a holistic review of national security and the future of our cooperation with the United States and NATO," he said.
 He said NATO aircraft continued to fire at the Pakistani troops for "over an hour" though the coordinates of the border posts were known to NATO and the International Security Assistance Force.
 A coordination mechanism between Pakistani and NATO forces "remained ineffective,” he said.The attack had "gravely dented the fundamental basis of Pakistan's cooperation with NATO/ISAF against militancy and terror". Safeguarding Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity is a "sacred national duty" and this will not be compromised under any circumstances, he added.
 "Countering terrorism is a national priority and the whole nation is determined to eliminate this menace from our society and the region," he said, adding Pakistan will continue with its policy of dialogue, development and deterrence.
 Pakistan's willingness to cooperate with the world community on counter-terrorism "has not been understood in its proper perspective", Gilani contended.
 "The notion to give Pakistan a 'to do' list and the mantra of 'do more' have caused immense resentment," he said.
 "In recent months, there has been a tendency to project Pakistan not as a 'partner' but as the 'problem'," Gilani contended.
 Pakistan's sacrifices in the campaign against terror had not been "adequately acknowledged", he said. "What is worse is the tendency to make Pakistan into a scapegoat for failings of international policies in Afghanistan," he added.
 Gilani said it would be a "grave miscalculation for anyone to believe that stability and peace in Afghanistan can be restored or maintained by destabilizing Pakistan".
 He suggested that the "way forward is to make honest efforts to get clarity and develop coherence, especially among Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US for instituting a credible process for a durable political settlement that guarantees the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan". (PTI)

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